Resolve
by ronko45
Summary: Torii was a little girl when she first met the Boogeyman, and when she was saved by the protector of children, Kurotabou, who had promised to protect her. Years later, on her eighteenth birthday, she encounters the Boogeyman again, but the man who saved her back then had not come to save her when she most needed it. Kuro x Torii.


Another Kuro X Torii Story

I own nothing; I do not own Nurarihyon no Mago.

Resolve

-X-

Torii pulled the covers over her head closing her eyes tightly. The room was dark, and everything was silent… too silent. She listened carefully to the beating in her heart, and the heavy breaths she was taking. She was anxious, mostly because of that one story her friends had told her about; it was about a monster that stayed in the closet, taking little kids to his dimension to work for him. She willed herself to think of other things, but she just couldn't. There was a sound she heard, and she immediately assumed that it was coming from her closet.

Torii pulled the covers from her head, listening again for the sound. It happened again, like a punch on a hollow object. She sat up; knees to her chin, trembling softly under the covers. Whimpering lightly, Torii started to move off of her bed. She moved to her arms, the bed squeaking loudly as she made her way off of it. She clambered onto the floor, realizing that the noise had stopped. She finally stepped onto the cold tile floor, grabbing her cover with her to get to her parents room, but she heard the noise again. The hollow thumping was close, closer than when she had been on the bed. "Huh?" she said as she looked to the closet. Again, nothing was heard, but it was close. Hearing it for the final time, Torii's eyes went wide. She jumped away from her bed, falling onto the ground just as a dark hand moved toward her.

"Ahh!'" she screamed, scrambling to get up. The hand extended even more, reaching to the end of the arm. When the fingers dug into the floor, the elbows bent, pulling the demon out from under the bed. Torii screamed again, running to the doorknob. Why weren't her parents able to hear her? Why did the demon come from her bed? Wasn't it supposed to come from her closet? She opened the door, closing it behind her just as the demon escaped from the confines of her bed support. The door was closed just as it reached her, so she was safe, for now…

The little girl hurried to the door opposite her room, opening her parent's door, and jumping up on the bed. "Mommy, daddy!" It took her a while to see that her parents weren't there. "Huh? Mommy… daddy? Where are you?" The door shut, and the hollow thumping had resonated in the room once again. Two arms appeared from under her parent's bed. Torii screamed, for help realizing she was trapped. From directly across from her, she saw a giant head slowly rising from where the arms had come from. Messy red hair was seen, followed by a fully white face that led to such red, evil eyes. A giant red nose was the last thing she saw before she closed her eyes to scream again. Her parents weren't here, so who was she to call? Her thoughts went to one person, or rather one being, that was able to save her should she call out his name.

"Kurotabou!" said Torii, fearing the clown as it came closer to her. She could hear his evil laugh, feel the hard skin under his fingers as he grabbed a hold of her, and started pulling her under. She screamed again, grabbing onto the headboard. "Mommy… daddy… Kurotabou," she said sniffling. Her arms had grown tired from resisting the demon's advances, so she let go, getting dragged from the bed to the floor.

Her body hit the cold tile with a thump. She had all about lost hope that she'd be saved; as she stared off into the darkness that resided under her parents bed, she heard the sound of calm feet walking toward her. A soothing, calming voice met her ears as the being spoke. "I will protect you…" he said. She looked in the dark room, up at the man who had spoken to her.

"Kurotabou?" she said with smiles and tears. He nodded, returning a sweet smile, before pulling out his swords and attacking the arms that bound her. Torii felt the grip of the demon clown off of her, and she ran behind Kurotabou. Only a screech was heard, and as the clown's wailing came to an end, Kurotabou started to leave. Torii stood up, grinning at the man that had just saved her. "Thank you."

This time he didn't smile. He tilted his hat, and just before leaving, he spoke. "Don't believe in those stories anymore, but always believe in me." When he stepped out of Torii's parent's room, she ran after him, calling out his name.

"Torii! Torii! Wake up!" She heard the voice, coming from a distance it seemed. The room around her had changed, and in an instant, she was facing her mother. She was worried. "Are you alright? You had a nightmare." Torii saw her dad standing right beside her mom. Looking at the closet and seeing that it was still closed, Torii hurried to check under her bed. She peeked down there, yet saw nothing that would tell her if it had truly been real. Her mother looked at her, getting her back into her usual sleeping position.

"He was here… he saved me."

"Who?" asked her dad.

"Kurotabou. He saved me from the demon under your bed. You guys weren't in your room when I came to you…"

"Honey, we came right here when we heard you scream. And there's no reason to be scared; there's no such thing as the Boogeyman… don't believe things like this." Her mom kissed her forehead.

"He said the same thing. Good night," she yawned. It took her a while to fall asleep, but mostly because she was still contemplating everything that had happened. The grip on her shoulder had felt completely real, in fact, she was sure she could still feel it. She let her mind be cleared, and smiled at the thought that even if her parents were right, and everything was a dream, she was happy to know that someone would always be there for her, watching over her.

-O-

Torii followed after Maki, grabbing onto her friend's shoulder after having grasped at nothing in the air. She was blindfolded and she was making sure not too be too far behind her friend, lest she get lost or get hurt as she followed after her. Maki smiled back, and spoke to Torii. "We're almost there, hold on a little more okay?"

"Do you mean that literally? Because I am not letting go of your shoulder until this blindfold is off. Where are we anyways? We took the bus so I can't tell…" she mumbled after Maki had completely ignored her. They made their way farther along, continuing into a room that was adorned with a myriad of party decorations. On the wall opposite the door, to where the two girls had entered, read a sign. Maki turned toward Torii and took off the blindfold. "Finally!" she said exasperated. She stopped when she saw Maki smiling, and then she looked about the room. Yura was in the corner with the whole group of their school club, Paranormal Patrol, except for Rikuo and then when she turned to the wall opposite her, where the large sign was held, she knew why all of this was for. "Happy eighteenth birthday…" she read, growing teary eyed.

"Happy Birthday!" everybody said and they all rushed to hug the girl. She should have known this was the reason she was blindfolded. Maki, she was sure, had been planning this for the longest and even though Torii had insisted, time and time again, that the party be forgotten, Maki continued on with her plan; she even got everybody else to join, but that was her friends for her. She hugged them back, smiling widely.

"So," said Torii after sitting down, "where is Rikuo? He's not going to skip out on me is he?"

"No. He said he was going to be here to drop off the cake and his present before he goes to bed."

"What?" said Torii looking at Kana with disbelief, "he's going to miss the party?"

"I thought you didn't want one Torii?"

"If it's here, I might as well enjoy it right?" she said.

"That's right." All eyes turned toward Rikuo and the beautiful cake he had in his hand.

"Let me help you with that Mast… Rikuo," corrected Tsurara. She got up and took the cake from him, placing it on the table already littered with empty plates and utensils.

"I'm sorry I can't stay, but I wish you a Happy eighteenth birthday. Here, your gift." Torii took it from him, understanding. "Well, have a good night you guys, and make yourselves at home okay?" They nodded, and after Rikuo shut the door, they got on with the party.

It was around midnight, and out of the bunch, only Shima and Kana had happened to get too full, and fall asleep. Kiyotsugu looked around the remaining awake and proposed they do something. "Well Torii, since you are officially eighteen, I wanted you to have some adventure…"

"From what I had already experienced?!" she asked. "You do know just being around you is an adventure right?"

He laughed and shook it off as if it wasn't an insult. "How about we go searching for yokai tonight? Who's in?" He looked around. Ao was leaning on the wall, hands crossed on his body; he shook his head. Everybody else said no. "Come on you guys!"

"You heard them," yawned Torii, going into the next room, to be away from Kiyotsugu and his prodding, "and I am going to sleep as well. Good night," she said.

"Fine then, I'll find some yokai myself."

Yura, although not wanting too, knew Kiyotsugu would find something in this mansion. She had an unusual feeling since she stepped foot into this place, kind of like it was filled with ayakashi, and because of that gut feeling, she followed after the boy.

-O-

Torii got into bed, pulling the covers over her head as she had done since she was a little girl. Even if it wasn't cold, just having something between her and the outside world just made her feel a lot safer. She closed her eyes and let her tire consume her…

-O-

Yura had followed after Kiyotsugu for such a long time now. She wasn't just doing it for him though; it was also so that she could rid this house of the aura that she felt. She looked around, almost forgetting about the boy, when she ran after him. He was at the Sakura tree that stood behind the pond, in the back of the Nura household. Kiyotsugu looked around the tree, and in it, hoping to find something. "Man," he said, sadly, "I can't find anything." He took out a notebook and skimmed the illegible notes quickly. "They said it'd be here… this is where the sightings were… but I can't find anything." He turned and took a picture of the tree anyways. "At least I got something, but I am not defeated yet!" he said with energy from out of nowhere. Yura started to follow him, after he had turned the corner, but a snigger kept her in place.

"So…" She looked up in the direction of the tree and chirped in hatred. "Were you looking for me?" Yura jumped back quickly, grabbing her ofuda, but Rikuo was quicker. He jumped down and embraced her from behind, making her immobile.

"There were yokai here… I knew it."

"Very clever. Now, can I ask you to stop trying to kill off my friends?" He turned her enough so that she was able to look at his deep, dark eyes. She faltered for a moment.

"Why you… you can't take my friend's house and use it as your own! I will make sure I kill you off without him knowing…"

"Oh, I'd love to see that. Don't worry though; my charges will not hurt your friends…" Rikuo said. He let Yura go and she took the chance to attack him with one of her shikigami, though before one could even get out of her hand, she was stopped by none other than Kurotabou. He pierced the paper with his staff and stood next to his equally mysterious master. "Kurotabou… I was perfectly capable on my own…" Night Rikuo said smiling.

"Oh you're dead," said Yura, but as she said this Kurotabou looked straight in the direction of where the kids had had their party earlier. Rikuo noticed this and asked him what was wrong. He heard a voice… a familiar voice, but he could do nothing… it wasn't his place anymore. After the voice had died down, both Yura and Rikuo looked in the same direction, sensing an immense amount of Fear. They ran towards the source, only hoping to get there in time.

-O-

Thump. Thump. Torii opened her eyes and held her breath. She looked around in the darkness that was under the covers, not daring to lift the cover up to see outside. The moment she heard that thump she was reminded of that one night, where she was almost taken by the Boogeyman. It was like this night, everything silent and eerie, and dark; so much darkness that you weren't able to make out what was just a few feet in front of you. It was then that she heard the thumping and she laughed at her paranoia. There could be no way that the Boogeyman was after her. For one, she was eighteen, officially free from all of that childish belief of evil monsters that lived in closets, and secondly, there was no "under the bed"; there was no space at all for the monster to come and reach out and get her. That thumping just had to be one of the other kids in the other room, she surmised.

Torii sighed and took the covers off of her face, facing, for the first time the darkness that was always in the room with her. She closed her eyes, and with a smile tried to go back to sleep, but that thumping had returned. It was the same hollow sound she had heard when she was younger. She sat up, scared out of her wits now, but still not saying or doing anything more than moving to the wall.

Thump. Thump.

Torii looked around, hearing the thumping originating from where she feared. Her eyes locked onto the bed, her eyes making out the outline of the bed to the floor. She saw it move slightly. "No… no…" she said wiping her eyes and looking at the bed again, "there is nothing under the bed!" Two hands shot out at the girl and she tried desperately to get the large coarse hands off of her. She grabbed onto to what she could, and that was nothing; the room was empty, save for a nightstand and her bed. "I am not going with you… you aren't real!" she cried out.

Nothing seemed to work for her as the hands only grew in strength. She was at her rope's end, and she knew she had to call out for _him. _She remembered that he said he would always protect her, and here she was in the same situation, needing help. She yelled out as loud as she could. "Kurotabou!" she said. She waited, waited. She repeated, repeated. Minutes passed and the demon didn't show. With tears dripping down her face, Torii gave up on the monk.

'He didn't come…' she thought to herself. Her body had given up, and the Boogeyman was only seconds away from pulling her under to his domain, but she wasn't going to let it end like this. She was going to fight, and even if she couldn't win, she would try to live. 'I just turned eighteen, which means I have a lot more years under my belt. I'll be damned if I don't fight for the rest of my life!'

-O-

The three ran into the room where they felt the immense power of the Fear growing. "What is going on in there? That's where Torii is?" yelled Yura who got out her Tanro. Tanro jumped into the room, and stopped the demon, biting his arms as Rikuo took Torii into his hands. Kurotabou finished the Boogeyman off, sending him back into the confines of the bed. Ao and Tsurara appeared in the doorway soon after the battle had ended.

"What is going on young master?" asked Aotabo.

Torii and Kuro had shared just a brief exchange before Torii started to cry. She got up, pushing Rikuo aside gently and walking up to Kurotabou. "How could you…?" she started looking at him. He moved his eyes away from her a few moments after she started to talk to him. Yura watched transfixed, as well as everyone else. "You promised me… you promised me all those years ago that you would protect me! Where were you when I called out for you Kurotabou? I trusted you…" she said as she hit him on the chest. She cried even more, before running into the night. She didn't want to stay anywhere where he was, so she went back home, hopefully able to block away all the pain that had met her outside of her bed sheets.

Yura moved to Kurotabou. She had looked incredibly disgusted, so much so that she had already planned on killing him right then and there, but she decided to talk to him instead, if yelling could be considered such. "How the hell could you let her call you like that and not go and save her! You are a sorry excuse for…" she started, but Rikuo pulled her away from him. "Hey Yokai, what do you…"

"Keikain, can I handle him without any help from you?" She looked away, not wanting to give him up. She wanted to be the one to tell him how to fix what he did wrong.

"No, she is my friend, and I have to at least get him back for almost killing her." She tried to run to him, but Rikuo laughed and held her back.

"Please… I'll steal some food from this house for you…" Rikuo taunted knowing how much she loved food.

"I don't condone stealing Yokai! You cannot bribe me…" she said faltering.

"Okay then it's a deal!" He pushed Yura out of the room, and when he was sure she had entered the room where the others were peacefully sleeping, Rikuo turned to Kurotabou, a no nonsense look on his face.

"What was that Kurotabou?"

"Young master…" he said, but quickly stopped his argument. He had no reason to argue; he knew what Rikuo was going to say. Rikuo had a thing for making sure humans weren't harmed and the fact that Kurotabou had blatantly disregarded the girl when she was in real danger, only fueled Rikuo on.

"You heard her calling out for you didn't you?" Kurotabou said nothing. Rikuo couldn't believe it himself. Kurotabou was usually so noble and he did vow to protect children, so what changed here? He looked at the monk, who was mad enough at himself already. Rikuo took a breath and spoke to him calmly. "Look, tell me why you didn't go to her when she called out for you?"

"She is not a child anymore. I only answer to children." Rikuo looked at him, not able to believe he had actually said that.

"But you heard her? Do you usually hear those who call out for you if they aren't kids?"

"I don't believe so…" he said thinking about it. It _was_ odd that he was able to hear her. What did that mean?

"If you did, then that must mean that you are connected in some way am I right?" When he didn't answer, Rikuo took that as a yes. "Look, Kurotabou, you can say no to whomever you don't want to save. You are not bound by the children who call out to you to save them; you have free will and you can use it however you want. Just because you were created to save kids doesn't mean you _only_ have to save kids." Kurotabou looked up at Rikuo at the emphasis of the word 'only'. Rikuo smiled when Kurotabou went outside.

Yura, who had been trying to listen, had gone outside when she saw the group gathering. She just remembered, at that moment, that Ao and Tsurara had called that demon "Master". She looked between the two of them, and yelled loudly.

"You…" she said frowning in disbelief while pointing an accusing finger at Rikuo. Rikuo smiled- figuring that she had realized the others let their guard down in front of her- and held her away from him as she tried to go after him. Kurotabou had stepped out of the circle.

"Where are you going Kuro?" asked Tsurara.

"To keep my promise…" he said. He was about to jump out of sight when Rikuo said one last thing.

"Kuro," The monk turned around. "She'll always have the heart of a child, no matter how many years go by." Kurotabou smiled, and tipped his hat as he ran off to Torii's house.

-O-

The lights were bright inside of the bedroom, illuminating every inch of the room; The closet light was on, and the door was wide open, revealing Torii's neatly hanged clothes, and shoes. She was standing in the doorway, hands at her waist, trembling slightly at what she was about to do. There was a knife on the desk, and she looked at it, almost as if it were her only savior, and it was. She knew she could rely on no one but herself; Kurotabou had already showed her that the only person she could count on to protect her was herself. She grabbed the knife, grasping it tightly, and putting it into the strap on her pants. She was ready for the demon that had- for the second time- gone after her. If she was going to save herself, she'd have to destroy the Boogeyman first so that she could finally go back to having a semi-regular life. She closed the lights in the room, taking a deep breath, and that was when she heard the thumping… Thump thump… thump thump.

She watched the bed, and watched as those long arms came from under it. The Boogeyman caught her, with no resistance, and she waited until she was pulled under the bed. She wasn't going to scream, no matter how much her heart wanted to beat, no matter how scared she was. She only had herself. Even when she heard her door slam open and looked up into the worried eyes of the demon, she still only wanted to trust herself to finish this job; it was only up to her.

Kurotabou saw the girl and before he could say anything to her, she turned away from him. Since he did feel partly responsible, he grabbed on to the Boogeyman's arm and followed after the girl.

-O-

Torii was awestruck at the sight that she came across. There was no way that what she saw was from under her bed, she was sure of that. The place she was in was dark, though with small amounts of light scattered non-uniformly by the flickering flames sitting on the walls, casting moving shadows about her. This only made the room look that much creepier. She looked around the darkened room, searching for the clown that had dragged her down with him, but in all the awe and confusion of the new dimension, she had completely lost track of him. In her search though, she got sight of the monk who had jumped into the new dimension with her. She turned away when he walked toward her.

"I don't need your help," she said stubbornly walking away from him. Kurotabou understood that she was trying to defeat her own enemy, but more importantly, she was trying to prove to herself that she didn't need him to watch over her. He respected that and told her so.

"I understand, but I will be here if you do need help."

She looked at him, at first surprised, then furious when the events of just earlier came back to her. "Oh yeah, like you came for me at Rikuo's house? I'm sure I could still trust you after that!" she yelled. The demon sighed and put his hand on her shoulder, her not bothering to turn around.

"This time I mean it. I will protect you, just like when you were little." She had blushed at the sound of his reassurance, and she shook her head before walking forward.

"Whatever Kurotabou…"

Torii walked deeper into the darkness, following the flames that seem to have been leading her to a specific place. She followed it, and after about ten minutes of only dim lighting, and burning kerosene, Torii entered the door that stood at the end of the path. She grabbed the cold handle. Her hand was slick with perspiration, and she gulped back a whole lot of fear. Kurotabou behind her, asked her if she was all right and she just shook him off. The girl steadied her breathing and after her last exhale, she turned the cold knob and entered the equally cold room.

In front of her, standing with his legs partly apart was the clown who had dragged her into this world, in other words, the Boogeyman. She walked up to him, fear coursing through her blood, hitting her at every body part, but that did not stop her from acting. "Why did you come after me?" asked Torii in a hard voice.

The clown's red eyes stared back at her, contemplating. She grew aggravated, and asked again. The Boogeyman smiled. "Simple, I wasn't going to lose another victim."

"Victim?" questioned Torii, "what are you talking about?"

"You were my victim when you were little…"

"Yeah, but you didn't get me!" Torii interrupted.

"No, but you still believed in me, and because of that, I always had a hold on you. Now, as I realized you were turning eighteen, I knew you would deny anything that had to do with me." His eyes grew dark as they stared into her eyes. "Far too many adults have slipped from my grasps because of that one reason. They grow up, and don't believe in the fantastic, or the supernatural, so they are safe from my grasps. But you, my dear Torii," he said with a sneer, "I got too you just at the right time. Now you will think about me, and fear me!" He laughed and threw his hands straight at Torii. She took a step back, dodging them. "Become my eternal slave Torii, just like many others before you!" As he said this, the door behind Kurotabou burst open, and children, and surprisingly a good number of older people, came running to help their master.

The knife Torii produced did nothing to help her situation. Never would she use her weapon against the younger kids fighting her, but she did use it to evade the advances of the adults, though nothing that would keep them down for long. She was pushed into the middle of the minions, Kuro right up against her back.

"I take it I can help now?" he asked. Torii could hear the smirk in his voice, but she knew he was right. She stood no chance at all against this many people.

"Fine, but I'm taking out the Boogeyman."

Kurotabou extended his staff and fought off the children, men, and women who had started to run after Torii when she left their circle. Kuro produced another staff and held it in front of those who were about to run. "I don't think so…" he spoke before pushing them backwards with immense force.

Torii ran in front of the Boogeyman, and stopped about a meter from him. He had a devious smile on his face, and she flinched, but hoped that it did not show. "You won't defeat me."

"We'll see about that." The Boogeyman waited for the girl to attack first, and she did. She threw the knife at him, hoping that the amount of power she put into her arms would be enough to at least hinder the monster. The kitchen knife flew through the air, hitting the giant hands that were probably almost impossible to miss, but its effects had not been something that she wanted. The outcome produced had not only left her weaponless, but gave the menacing monster something more to use against her. She moved back slowly as he smiled widely at her, before she turned to run.

Behind her, the Boogeyman hadn't even bothered to run after her, allowing all of his 'victims' to take her down. Kurotabou, who had barely even made a dent considering he had to stop the majority of the minion gang from getting to Torii, jumped away from them and stopped their attack on the girl. The two locked eyes for only a moment. "Thank you," said Torii.

"I am right here behind you Torii. Here, I think this'll work better than a kitchen knife…" From below his clothes the monk drew a bat. He placed it into her hands and smirked at her confused face. "Anybody can use a bat… all you have to do is swing really hard."

"Yeah, you're right!" yelled Torii. She turned in front of the various adults and little kids that had been surrounding both her and her companion. She was not going to let them get the better of her. She was different than when she was yesterday, and because of that, she would fight for herself from now on, whether or not she had someone backing her up. Two adults sauntered in front of her, hands extended as they tried to touch her. "No!" she yelled swinging the bat, "I will defeat you Boogeyman, because I am not afraid of you anymore."

The blunt weapon swung voraciously back and forth as Torii made it through the group at a much faster rate than Kurotabou did. She didn't care anymore about not hurting them too badly. As long as she knocked out those that teamed up with the Boogeyman, then she didn't care how hard or how soft the blow was; she was fighting to survive, and that was what she was going to do. In front of her, almost bemused by the sight Torii presented to him, the clown had only smiled at her actions. He took a step forward, taunting her to come closer to him. The kitchen knife was waved slowly, as if slicing the air into fine, thin slices.

"Come at me then and show me your fearlessness." Torii kept on running forward to the monster. In her mind, all she could think of at that moment was her strength, and how unafraid she really was. She swung the bat forward and attempted to attack the Boogeyman, but he dodged her effortlessly. Torii turned around swiftly, not giving the monster clown anymore of a chance to move away, as she came back a second time with the blunt wooden weapon. The CRACK that resonated throughout the room had stopped all motion; the clattering of the knife was heard as well as it hit the floor. Kuro looked at the girl with a proud face, and the minions had looked scared.

The Boogeyman looked up at his attacker, eyes glowing red from both fury and pain. How was it that she was able to hit him? He took a step forward, moving the splintered bat away from him with a flick of his wrist. The girl wasn't scared anymore, not of him, and not of the minions that had all stopped to see the outcome of the battle. This was the first time something like this has ever happened and he was shocked to know that someone could actually, after being afraid of him for years, still find the resolve to overcome their fear.

He roared loudly into the air, annoyed and infuriated that the girl showed not a ounce of fright. Torii looked at Kurotabou and after throwing another weapon to her, a steel bat this time, she took her place. "Boogeyman, I am not afraid of you anymore. You may have gotten me when I was a child, but I am eighteen and I choose what I am scared of or not. You do not choose for me, because if I can't beat you, than I will forever have to rely on him," she spoke pointing to Kuro, "and the others, and I want to be the one to save them for a change." She tapped the bat in her hands, smiling evilly at the Boogeyman. "I am ready to take control of my Fear."

The Boogeyman ran for her; her smart mouth had finally gotten to him. He should have been cool, calm, and composed when he went after her, but because of his brash behavior, he was down before the battle even started. Torii dodged the clown easily, much like he had before, and took the bat hitting him in the head multiple times. The Boogeyman fell to the floor, pain shooting throughout his body, but even in his deformed shape, he still managed a laugh. The laugh was just as unnerving as the roar he had emitted, and Torii looked at him confused. The minions moved from Kurotabou and started after Torii again.

"Why are they attacking me? Aren't you done for?" Kurotabou gasped loudly, moving behind the girl to watch her back as the minions shifted closer to her and him. They only got a few feet closer, before they all started to disappear. One by one, as if by magic, the grown men and women, and the young children disappeared to whom knows where. Torii looked at the Boogeyman, knowing that he was the one behind this. "What did you do?"

"No matter if one person defeats me, so long as there is fear of the darkness, I will be here…" He laughed again, he too, vanishing like his cronies before him. That shrill, menacing laugh filled the room, only growing in loudness until finally it died instantly.

Torii sighed, dropping to the floor as if everything that had happened had taken the life out of her. "I thought I'd have to fight again…"

"You did well," Kuro said not looking at her.

"Well I better have done well. I have no one else to watch over me remember."

As she was about to leave to the door that they came through, Kuro pulled her towards him, making her face him. They were a few feet apart, but the intenseness of his stare on her eyes caused her to blush. "Torii, I know I made a mistake, but I will always be there for you, even now when you surely don't need it." He started to walk away, leaving Torii by herself, contemplating what the man had just told her. "Are you coming?" Removing it from her mind, Torii ran after him, mumbling under her breath.

The duo reached the doorway, and then after stepping into the doorway, they were back inside of Torii's room. The light was off and only the darkness resided, yet the mood of the place was still readable. Torii and Kuro stayed quiet, neither of them talking to the other. When finally Kurotabou turned to leave, Torii asked him one question.

"Why did you not save me?" Kurotabou looked to her and answered as honestly as he knew how.

"Because I wasn't sure if I was allowed to…" he said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you turned eighteen, officially an adult, and even though I heard your cries, I was conflicted between whether I had to save you or not."

Torii looked at him. "I am still mad that you chose not to save me…"

"But I did, didn't I…" interrupted Kuro. "I ran with the others to save you, and I also came all the way into the dimension of the Boogeyman to save you…" He walked up to Torii, closing the space between them in a matter of seconds. "I think you should reconsider how you feel about me, don't you think?" He was now only inches from her face.

"…" The girl was so embarrassed, so transfixed on the man before her that she couldn't produce a response. He smirked at her, only running his hands across her face, and under her chin before returning it back to his side.

"Happy Birthday Torii…" Kurotabou left the room, encasing Torii in complete darkness. Even in this darkness, the only thing that was seen was the white of her teeth and the shine in her eyes as she smiled brightly. Things were looking up for her upcoming years.

A/N: Yay, this is finally finished! I hated writing about the Boogeyman because there were just so many ways to kill him off, but in the end, I decided to just let him live on in other peoples' fears. I know the romance is low, but hey it is Kuro, but don't be weary! I will eventually make one where he just takes Torii, regardless of how OOC he will be!(not really, I'll try to make him in character) but seriously, how many times do people expect me to write about a pairing that I love and have no action? I mean, don't Kuro x Torii deserve to have a little love other than a remark that makes Kuro just a bit nicer than usual? I think so… anyways sorry about the rant here. Thanks for reading and oh yeah Happy New Years! May all your days be filled with joy, love, and family, and may God bless you all!


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